Expression: "Go off to sleep"

Mr. TomHi

Is the bold expression commonly used?

I had a severe headache so I decided to go off to sleep.

Thanks,

Tom


Yes, it's commonly used .

Mr. TomHi
Is the bold expression commonly used?

I had a severe headache so I decided to go off to sleep.

Say "...I decided to go to bed."

Could you please tell me what's wrong with:

go off to sleep

Tom

I'm assuming that by "go off to sleep" you mean "fall asleep" (it could also potentially mean to move to another location where you intend to sleep). "I had a severe headache so I decided to go off to sleep" seems a bit weird to me because "going off to sleep" (in this sense) is not something that you really "decide" to do. It's something that just happens. The earlier suggestion of "decided to g

Mr. TomI had a severe headache so I decided to go off to sleep.

Hi Tom
Here is my personal reaction to your sentence:

The combination of the words "off to sleep" brings to my mind the idea of gently falling asleep while in a relaxed and comfortable state, and that clashes with the idea in the beginning of your sentence. I know

"Off to bed, now" is a very common way of telling children to go to bed for the night.

"Off to sleep" doesn't sound quite right, but "dozed off" (in front of the TV) is quite common in my case.

In the case of a headache, "sleep it off" sounds quite natural

In a slightly different meaning: "Tomorrow, I'm off to California to visit my nephew".

Many thanks to you, and once agian it proved to be a full lesson. I wish I could compile a book of such usages!

@ Amy

With severe headache pain...

Is it common to say headache pain or earache pain?

Thanks again

Tom

Mr. TomIs it common to say headache pain or earache pain?

In everyday conversation, no, not very common. "headache" and "earache" usually do the job by themselves (note the "ache" element of these words). However, these expressions are possible; a Google search will throw up examples of their use.

Hi Tom

Mr. TomIs it common to say headache pain or earache pain?

I might describe reason for my wording as the simple fact that my primary focus was on the idea of "pain".

Both "severe" and "headache" served to further describe/define the word "pain".